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REPAIRS COULD DELAY START OF CAR FERRY

A $2.8 million engine overhaul could delay the scheduled Memorial Day relaunch of the 55-mph, Rochester-to-Toronto car ferry.

The Spirit of Ontario, which zipped across Lake Ontario for just 11 weeks last year before getting swamped in debt, will undergo repairs in May at the Port of Rochester. The work will take up to a month to complete, and officials hinted the relaunch would be delayed until mid-June.

"We will not launch before we are fully capable of doing so, and we will not announce that date until we have all the facts in hand," said Mayor William Johnson Jr.

The city of Rochester bought the ferry for $32 million at an auction in February. It will contribute $1.3 million toward the repairs, with the German engine manufacturer paying the rest.